By Gabriel Mayom
Link to web article here.

RUMBEK, 26 December 2013 (Gurtong) - The 50 soldiers sustained gunshot wounds as they were deployed in Unity state in Division four where their commander, James Koang Chuol, decided to desert from the SPLA and joined anti-government forces loyal to Dr Riek Machar Teny.

Paul Dhel Gum, Minister of Health in Warrap State government said that “Twic county hospital received 30 wounded soldiers and they are admitted in hospital there – there are 20 other refer state headquarters at Kuacjok hospital undergoing treatment from gunshot wounds. All those 50 soldiers were from SPLA deployed in division four but they were being targeted by their commander by disarming them and they were followed and later a gunfire were being opened on them – they escaped death and more wounded started arriving Twic on December 24 till date 26.”

Dhel said that there were no civilians being brought to their two separate hospitals in Twic neither in Kuacjok state referral hospital as part of South Sudan unrest power political wrangling in the country.

Dhel said that “we are still expecting the arrival of more soldiers from the border of unity state. I am requesting our national ministry of health to support our state hospital with antibiotics and fluid injections to rescue the situation which seems to likely increase due the bad security situation in unity state.”

He also added that the national government must treat their request as an urgent matter to save lives of gallant soldiers who sacrificed their lives in defending the sovereignty of the nation.

The Minister blamed international media for having misinterpreted the South Sudan “political power struggling within a party” by turning it as “a ethnic violence” in their reporting style.

“Our state is very peaceful - we try to protect all Nuer civilians who are serving under various section within our state – we believe as Warrap State government, South Sudan is not ready for any violence neither politically or socially - we need peace and we are one citizen serving this nation – we are being define by world and international communities as South Sudanese and not as Nuer or Dinka,” Dhel said.